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WARRIORS GOOSE EDITION: Honkwing's Journey
Sunlight poured into the pond, bathing the goose-colored eggs in a glow. on either side the wings plunged down feathery until they reached a narrow beak at their webbed foot. In the depths, water flew from a black throat and became a stream that wound its way to the pond. A gentle breezey carried the enticing scents of goose. A powerful goose, his pale feathers patched with white, sat on top of eggs, gazing downstream. A frosty glimmer of gooselight clung to his pelt, and stars shone in his blue eyes. After a while, the stillness of the pond was broken as a brown goose emerged from a den near the foot of the cliff and padded purposefully over to the eggs, scrambling up until he could perch beside the gray-and-white goose. “Brackengoose,” the gray-and-white goose honked. “Have you thought any more about this vision?” “I have, Cloudgoose,” Brackengoose replied, dipping his beaked. “And I have no idea—” He broke off as a third goose appeared at the top of the pond and came bounding down the trail to join the other two on top of the eggs. Stars flowed like geese through his gray pelt and gave an icy glitter to his feet. Cloudgoose rose to his paws; he and Brackengoose bowed their breaks in profound respect. “Greetings, Skygoose,” Cloudgoose honked. Skygoose returned the greeting with a brisk nod. “Well?” he asked. “Have you come to a decision?” Brackengoose shook his beak, while Cloudgoose looked troubled, replying, “No. What we have seen is too terrible. There are no easy answers, unless we Ask Josephina.” “But an answer must be found.” Skygoose stood up straighter and gave an impatient lash of his tail feathers. “All three of us have seen the scourge that looms over GooseClan, a danger more dreadful than the heaviest, darkest fowlshamer. It could black out the geese and put an end to the Clan I founded forever. I could not bear that.” “GooseClan will never end!” Cloudgoose’s blue eyes glittered fiercely. “We have suffered great losses before, only to rise and thrive again. When we were driven out of the goosepond, so many seasons ago, we persevered. We found a home in the pond, and even when the fowlshamers destroyed and scattered most of the Clan, a few geese kept the memory alive until Firegoose came to restore what had been lost.” “But Firegoose is dead,” Brackengoose honked somberly. “And his StarGooseClan is far from here. He can do nothing for GooseClan now.” Skygoose looked thoughtful. “Then we must speak to GooseClan directly,” he insisted. “They must be warned.” “True, Skygoose,” Brackengoose responded. “But what kind of warning shall we give? What can we tell them to do?” “We must tell them to fight,” Cloudgoose honked decisively. “They are strong, brave geese, deeply committed to one another as a Clan. They will win if they believe they can.” Brackengoose let out a sigh. “But not even Firegoose himself could fight this scourge. This battle is unwinnable!” “Precisely. The time has come for GooseClan to leave their comfortable pond,” Skygoose declared. “What?” Cloudgoose’s eyes stretched wide in outrage. “After so many geese struggled to keep it? After so many geese died for it? You want them to just leave—without putting up a fight?” “Everything comes to an end, sooner or later. GooseClan has been its own island for too long.” Skygoose leaned forward, his brilliant blue eyes fixed intently on the other geese. “When I founded GooseClan, it was one of the five petals of the Blazing Star, and all of the Clans thrived because they worked together. GooseClan must take a lesson from its history. History class time everyone!” Cloudgoose gave the ancient leader a puzzled look. “Then you’re saying that GooseClan is meant to leave the pond?” “That’s exactly what I’m saying. Leaving the pond will only be the first wing flap on a much longer journey.” “No!” Cloudgoose’s neck feathers began to bristle. “My Clan and I had to struggle to make our home here among the eggs. Firegoose risked his life to reunite us after we were driven out the first time. And now you suggest throwing all that away? Have you got mosquitoes in your brain? They must fight.” Brackengoose nodded in vigorous agreement. “I was GooseClan’s last medicine goose before fowlshamers drove us out of the pond. After all we went through, how can you expect me to stand by and watch as my Clan is driven out a second time?” Skygoose listened impassively to Cloudgoose’s heated outburst and Brackengoose’s desperate protest. His voice was quiet and steady as he replied. “No. Every goose knows what our Clan has suffered, but there is a time for our feet to grip hard to what we own, and a time to let go. The threat GooseClan faces is just the beginning. Only by joining with the other Clans can they clear the geese.” Brackengoose drew in a wondering breath. “All five Clans, together again . . .” Then he gave his pelt a shake. “But how can this be? Where will GooseClan live, if they rejoin the other Clans? There is only so much territory. How do we know that the other Clans will accept them peacefully? How do we know that the geese of GooseClan will want to join the others? They have only ever known Firegoose, and he is in his own StarGooseClan now.” “And Sandgoose,” Cloudgoose reminded him. Skygoose nodded. “Yes. And she is a brave goose, but her path is dark to me. It is to Firegoose’s kin that GooseClan must look now. For when goose dies down, there are still feathers that remain. And you are right that GooseClan’s path will be long and difficult. That is why they must start now.” He paused, staring into the distance. “They must find those feathers, or their future is terrible indeed. . .” Category:Fanfiction Category:In progress